Is there some way to change the view of the topic's? I'm having a hard time figuring out which replies are the new ones, & which ones are the new ones that should be at the bottom, & the other new ones that are supposed to be somewhere in the middle, & which ones are replies, & which ones are replies to another reply that were actually somebody else replying to the first reply , & so on & so forth.

SMF uses only the flat view. Threaded is not an option at all for it and it does not appear they are going to develop such an option.

The best way to identify what post someone is replying to is for them to quote (using the shortcut button) the post they are specifically replying to.

Now, the good thing is about finding new messages. You can instantly find every new message by looking at the top lefthand corner of the screen. After the greeting "Hey, yourname", you will see two clickable options. "Show unread posts since last visit." and "Show new replies to your posts. " Both of those are great.

Also, on the main page for the forum, any section of the board with a new message in it will have a green button. If there are none, the button will be red. Clicking on the button will take you to new posts in that section. Any posts you have not read will have a blue "new" graphic. Clicking on that in the overall section view will take you directly to the new post.

Even more, you can scroll down to the bottom of the main forum page and pick "View the most recent posts on the forum."